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James O'Brien Slays Boris's Record In Power

As Boris Johnson rules out standing for Tory leader, James O'Brien slays his record as Mayor of London.

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This is James O'Brien's forensic analysis of Boris Johnson's time as Mayor - and it doesn't make for pretty listening.

James was speaking after Mr Johnson dramatically ruled himself out of the race to be Conservative Party leader this morning.

Speaking to a caller to his LBC show who was backing Boris, James reeled off some of his "achievements".

He said: "Just give me one achievement. Let me run through a few for you.

"Homelessness: he promised that if he became Mayor, he'd totally eradicate rough sleeping on the streets of London by 2012. The line was 'It's scandalous that in 21st century London that people have to resort to sleeping in the streets'. The number has doubled.

"He said in 2008 that he would not close a single ticket office on the London Underground. He's closed every single one.

"He promised on fares in the 2008 manifesto that we pay the highest fares in Europe and that he'd fix that. First year after being re-elected, he increased his fares on average by 4.2% across the board, much higher than inflation.

"Congestion: of course, he removed the Congestion Zone from parts of west London.

"Fire service: he promised he would never shut a single station or indeed withdraw a single appliance. That was in 2010. He's actually closed 10 fire stations and removed 27 fire engines from services, 14 of those permanently.

"Police officers: His nine-point plan for a greater London involved a list of nine promises sent to every household in London. Number four on the list was making our streets and homes safter with 1,000 more police on the beat. The number of officers on London's streets has not risen. When he was reminded of his claim, he accused journalists of making a wilful reconstruction.

"Council tax: he said he would put £445 back in our pockets. This, it later emerged, was based on imagined savings compared to what they assumed Ken Livingstone was going to do with council tax, but had no proof he was."